My first experience at SEC Media Days 2023

I had gotten a text a few weeks ago from Collyn asking if I wanted to come to SEC Media Days in Nashville. My response? “Hell to the yeah.”

I would’ve been crazy to say no to something as cool as this. Prior to this week, I had never been to Nashville in my life. I had always heard about how much fun it is.

More importantly, when opportunities like this come along, you don’t say no. This is what the dream looks like, at least for me. Going to big sporting events and just taking it all in. As it turns out, I ended up being able to do that and so much more in the span of 24 hours.

After taking two flights to get from Florida to Nashville, my first night consisted of getting to check out Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans, and going to Broadway for the first time. I won’t go much more in depth than that, but I will say it was a lot of fun.

Starting nice and early at 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning, it was time to get to business. When I arrived at the Grand Hyatt hotel, I was excited and nervous at the same time, but also ready to get the day going.

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I had heard so much about how media day is a lot to take in. And that’s not wrong. As soon as you walk in, there’s so much activity going on. I can’t say I have been Black Friday shopping before, but from what I’ve seen and heard, it kind of reminded me of that.

Everywhere you look, something is happening. There’s just coaches, players and media walking around and conversing. It’s pretty wild just to see as a first-timer.

Then walking into the main media room is something else. The room itself is humungous. But it was also surreal to be in the same room as so many talented journalists, some of which I’ve grown up reading or watching their work.

But at the end of the day, I had a job to do. So when Shane Beamer emerged from behind a black curtain and onto the podium to speak, the non-stop typing began.

I ended up not asking Beamer a question, rather just listening in and doing the work that I needed to do. But once the players came out to their separate spots for gaggle-style interviews, I went for it.

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I had the chance to talk golf with Kai Kroeger. I even asked him who’s the best golfer (Alex Herrera) and best dressed on the team (Nick Emmanwori, Xavier Legette, Spencer Rattler and Tonka Hemingway). Then I talked with Hemingway about how he played three sports growing up. He was a solid basketball player in high school, believe it or not.

If you’re wondering why I didn’t talk to Rattler, it would be because of a sizable crowd that just didn’t feel necessary to squirm my way into. It was one of those cases where everyone wanted to get a piece of him while Kroeger and Hemingway were on the other side of the room with a few people interviewing them at a time.

But after asking Kroeger what he shoots in golf these days (he told me 80), Rattler did walk up behind me and said, “He’s alright, he’s alright.” So I guess that counts for something.

After that, I wrote a few more stories and ate some good lunch (pulled pork, salad and broccoli). The best part of the afternoon was getting a chance to connect with other members of the media. It was nice to meet new people and take advice from them as I move forward in my career.

Overall, Nashville was a fantastic experience. It’s got my stamp of approval. As a 23-year-old journalist less than a year out of college, getting to go to SEC Media Days was awesome. It was like being a kid in the candy store. I got way more than I bargained for, and I’ll come home with some great memories and stories to tell.

Now, everyone’s attention slowly turns from talking season to football season. We’re just a little over a month away from week one in Charlotte. Luckily for me, I’ll be along for the ride all season long helping cover the Gamecocks. It’s going to be a fun time.

Thanks to all who followed along with Collyn, Mike, and my coverage this week. We’ll see you this fall!

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